Cooperative Countries of a Shared World

[7,052,770]

Basic rules of the game:

1. Harry is not allowed to accidentally delete the game.

2. We are making one world in 2013 with a point of divergence [POD] sometime between 1100 and 1300. All histories must fit into each other, so contradict anyone else's. If someone does post something contradictory, politely inform him/her, and you are the offender, politely modify your history. There's no need for anyone getting rude or upset about it.

3. On your turn, add a new country to the map and give the following information:
Offical Name: The official legal name of the country
Common Name: What the country is usually called by people
Territorial Description: Describe where the country is, in either in in-game terms or OTL terms
Capital:
Government: Describe how the government works. If you want, list the head of state, head of government, or any other noteworthy politicians.
Level of Freedom:
Population: Number of people, and if the country isn't homogenous, you can give ethnic percentages as well. Be realistic.
Languages: What are the official languages, are there other commonly spoken languages? Give percentages. May not add to 100% with people speaking multiple languages.
Religion: Is there a state religion, and are there other common religion? Give percentages.
Level of Technology and Development:
History: Give a brief history for the country.
Interesting Fact: Give one more interesting fact about the country that doesn't necessarily have historical relevance, just to give the world more flavor.
If you want to include a flag or any additional information, feel free.

4. When editing your map, delete rivers from inside your country's borders. They are just there to help you create borders. Make international borders in dark grey, not black. If you want to include provinces or other internal subdivisions, you can, but use light grey to subdivide them (see key on bottom left of the map). Also, make your national borders as clean as you can at the corners. Make your borders look like the example on the left, not like the one on the right.


5. The POD is sometime between 1100 and 1300 in Europe. Everything in world history before the POD happened in this world, so you can't create a surviving Roman Empire or Kingdom of David as your country.

6. Similarly, anything from after the POD probably won't happen. While the ripple effect of the change may take centuries to affect other continents (the Americas should probably be the same until 1500 or so), people like Johann Gutenberg, Martin Luther, and Karl Marx won't be born, so things similar to the Gutenberg Bible, Lutheranism, and Marxism, etc., might exist in this world, but they will have been created by different people and have different names.  Cities founded after the POD probably won't exist, or if they do, probably won't have the same name. Countries founded shortly after the POD might still come about, but under different circumstances, and countries founded much later shouldn't exist at all.

7. Similarly, Europeans will almost certainly discover the Americas (which will have different names) by 1500 or so, but patterns of exploration, settlement, etc., may be completely different. Natives probably will be decimated by diseases, though.

8. Don't be too similar to the real world. There will probably be some breakaway from the Catholic Church at some point, but there's no reason to think it has to be started because a German monk nailed complaints onto a door. There probably will be trench warfare at some point, but we don't have to see large wars in the 1910s and 1940s followed by a Cold War between democracies and a Communist analogue.

9. On the other hand, be plausible. Don't create a Sioux country that conquers all the way to the Atlantic and then builds ships and colonizes North Africa and invades Europe or something ASB (alien space bats) like that.

10. You can take multiple turns, but don't take consecutive ones, and don't take more than other people are taking. This rule we'll really have to play by ear once we see how many people are adding countries, so just be reasonable.

11. Early on, keep your histories just a paragraph or two so that you don't box other people in. Use ______s in your history if you want to leave stuff open-ended and you can fill it in later as others create more history for the world. As the game goes on, you may want to make your histories longer to talk about how your countries reacted to established events. You can always come back later and expand on a history.  And remember, keep within established history and don't contradict others' turns.

12. Remember, the world has to fit together. In addition to not directly contradicting each other, don't contradict the spirit of the created world, either. For example, if nobody's countries have far-flung colonial empires, that probably means that's frowned upon in this world. In addition, even if large empires are realistic, try to keep your countries small enough so that everyone who wants to add a country can.

13. Claim a turn before you take one so that we don't have people working at the same time on the same area.

Overall - be realistic, be cool, fit your histories together, and I won't delete it this time.

[7,052,770]

I'll start:

Offical Name: The Most Serene Republic of Venice
Common Name: Venice
Territorial Description: The area around Venice and the Dalmatian coast
Capital: Venice
Government: Representative democracy with a legislature (the Great Council), and an elected president (the Doge). Current Doge Antonio Donato was first elected in 2008.
Level of Freedom: Very high. Freedom of speech, religion, etc. is completely allowed
Population: 7,281,000. Ethnically, 81% Venetian, 17 Slavic, 2% other
Languages: Venetian is fluently spoken by 88% of the population. Dalmatian 14%, other 4%.
Religion: No official religion. Catholic 49%, other Christian 24%, Jewish 3%, Islam 1%, other 1%, irreligious 22%
Level of Technology and Development: Very high
History: Venice was always a wealthy state of traders and seamen, and was the main trading link between Europe and the Middle East. It had a powerful navy and fought many skirmishes in the Aegean/Greek area until the 1700s. It owned several Greek islands until that time.
It was Venetian explorer Agostino Marcello who first discovered the New World in 1481, but he did so in the name of Castile, not Venice. Venice's only overseas colonial possession was the island of St. Mark, which it no longer owns.
Venice made it through the Troubling Times of the late 1800s without too much damage, and, having given up its powerful navy, stayed out of all 20th century wars. Today, Venice has a liberal social safety net, a high standard of living, and high income equality.
Interesting Fact: Venice is now considered to be the world capital of fashion and is one of the world's major banking centers.

(The map won't blow up on the forum, but you can open the picture in a new tab and see it full-size.)

[JerryArkansas]

I'll go next

[JerryArkansas]

Offical Name: The Federal Republic of Jamestown
Common Name: Jamestown
Territorial Description: OTL Alabama, Texas, Arkansas, Mississippi, Mo, and GA
Capital: Birmingham
Government: Presidential Republic headed by James Taylor Price
Level of Freedom: Very High
Population: 45.3 million  Ethnically, 51% English, 40 Black, 9% other
Languages: English 93%, French 6%, Other 1%
Religion: No official religion.  Catholic 39%, other Christian 34%, Jewish 7%, Islam 6%, other 1%, irreligious 13%
Level of Technology and Development: Very High
History: First founded as a small colony in 1576, the area soon grew at large rate.  In about 1734, the people wanted independence, and in a amazing event, was granted without one drop of blood.  Soon afterwords, the young country took a big step in outlawing slavery in 1776.  Over the next 200 year, peace ruled, until a rebellion nearly ripped the country apart.  The only thing that saved them was the  intervention of __________.  Over the past 20 years they have been in a state of reconstruction, and is now considered a leading power in the world.
Interesting Fact: One of the first countries to outlaw slavery, and one of the first to have a system of high speed rail.
Largest cities
Birmingham 5.6 million
Carlisle 4.6 million
Chester 3.2 million

[Snowstalker Mk. II]

Fourth spot.

[Хahar 🤔]

I'll be fifth.

[afleitch]

Because I can't let anyone have it

Official Name: The Citizens Republic of the Scots
Common Name: Scotland
Territorial Description: Scotland, The Faroe Islands, The Isle of Man, The Island of Crete
Capital: Edinburgh
Government: Representative democracy composed of a Senate and a Assembly
Level of Freedom: Very high.
Population: 6,000,000. Ethnically, 95% Scots, 5% Cretan
Languages: Scots-English. Scots-Greek spoken in Crete
Religion: Generally secular, 68% profess no religious belief. Some Episcopalian, some Greek Neo-Pagan
Level of Technology and Development: Very high
History: A prosperous nation, one of the first to industrialise. The monarchy was overthrown in the 1848 Revolution leading to the establishment of a Citizens Assembly (will expand)
Interesting Fact: Has the only Metro system in Europe that connects two large cities.

[CLARENCE 2015!]

Offical Name: Republic of Bavaria
Common Name: Bavaria
Territorial Description: Bavaria and Tirol
Capital: Munich
Government: Presidential republic with a President elected every seven years for one term serving as the Head of State, and a Prime Minister as the Head of Government who is the leader of the largest party in parliament- known as the Bundestag
Level of Freedom: Very high- analogous to other European nations
Population: 12,600,000 nearly all German ethnicity
Languages: .German 95%
Religion:. Catholicism is the official religion and practiced by 75% of the population, the rest being of many other faiths including Protestant, Jewish, Muslim, etc.
Level of Technology and Development: Very high
History: Bavaria was one of the German states since the early part of the millenium, being founded by the Bavarian people of the Alps. It rapidly grew due to trade with other areas and avoided many of the conflicts characteristic of the era. Throughout the 1800s, it maintained independence by playing off of each side in the Prussian-Austrian rivalry and its people refused to be united with Prussia to form an overall German state. As its neighbors Prussia to the north and Austria to the south sought to militarize- Bavaria maintained neutrality in the early 1900s. Though German nationalists attempted to use Munich as a home base in the 1920s and 1930s to form a pan-German movement, the Bavarian population wished to avoid conflict and discouraged the National Socialist Party- never serving as its base of support which prevented its rise elsewhere in Germany. Bavaria has focused on internal economic development which allows its cities to consistently be ranked among the world's most liveable.
Interesting Fact: Its beer is considered the world's finest!

I do not know how to edit that map- can some one show me how?

[Snowstalker Mk. II]

Offical Name: Persian Empire
Common Name: Persia
Territorial Description: Stretches from the Tigris to the Indus and the banks of the Aral and Caspian Seas.
Capital: Tehran
Government: The Emperor, while officially having the ability to weild almost unlimited power, is mostly a figurehead; currently the 39 year-old Giv XVII is on the throne. A unicameral parliament is elected on a first-past-the-post basis.
Level of Freedom: Moderately high, though corruption and ethnic violence are still major issues
Population: 370 million, mostly along coastal areas and river valleys.
Languages: Persian; Balochi, Azeri, and Urdu are the most common minority languages.
Religion: The only Zoroastrian-majority nation in the world, the official religion is followed by about 80% of the citizenry. Islam, Armenian Orthodoxy, and Hinduism are also practiced and tolerated.
Level of Technology and Development: Medium, though on the rise thanks to increased drilling and mining.
History: Often considered the bridge between the Islamic world and the East, the modern Persian Empire dates back to the resurgence of Zoroastrianism and the decline of Shi'a Islam. Though autocratic until recently, Giv XVI and Parliament managed reforms giving more power to the elected body in response to increased agitation.
Interesting Fact: The Persian film industry, known informally as Zollywood, is among the largest in the world.

[7,052,770]

Offical Name: Republic of Bavaria
Common Name: Bavaria
Territorial Description: Bavaria and Tirol
Capital: Munich
Government: Presidential republic with a President elected every seven years for one term serving as the Head of State, and a Prime Minister as the Head of Government who is the leader of the largest party in parliament- known as the Bundestag
Level of Freedom: Very high- analogous to other European nations
Population: 12,600,000 nearly all German ethnicity
Languages: .German 95%
Religion:. Catholicism is the official religion and practiced by 75% of the population, the rest being of many other faiths including Protestant, Jewish, Muslim, etc.
Level of Technology and Development: Very high
History: Bavaria was one of the German states since the early part of the millenium, being founded by the Bavarian people of the Alps. It rapidly grew due to trade with other areas and avoided many of the conflicts characteristic of the era. Throughout the 1800s, it maintained independence by playing off of each side in the Prussian-Austrian rivalry and its people refused to be united with Prussia to form an overall German state. As its neighbors Prussia to the north and Austria to the south sought to militarize- Bavaria maintained neutrality in the early 1900s. Though German nationalists attempted to use Munich as a home base in the 1920s and 1930s to form a pan-German movement, the Bavarian population wished to avoid conflict and discouraged the National Socialist Party- never serving as its base of support which prevented its rise elsewhere in Germany. Bavaria has focused on internal economic development which allows its cities to consistently be ranked among the world's most liveable.
Interesting Fact: Its beer is considered the world's finest!

I do not know how to edit that map- can some one show me how?

I would suggest changing "National Socialist Party" to something different since it's unlikely that the name would pop up in a world that diverged 500 or so years before.  Otherwise it looks good.

To edit the map, copy and paste it into Paint and make the changes there. Outline Bavaria in grey and color it in, and make a point on the map legend.

If you don't have Paint, I can do it for you.

[7,052,770]

I went ahead and added Bavaria to the map.  It's now Xahar's turn, and then the floor is open.

[Хahar 🤔]

Offical Name: Bengali State (বাঙালি রাষ্ট্র Bangali rashṭro)
Common Name: Bengal (বঙ Bôngo)
Territorial Description: Bengal and surrounding areas
Capital: Malda
Government: Theocratic republic with an indirectly elected seven-member Council (মজলিস Môjlish) forming the collective head of state and an appointed Vizier (উজির Ujir) as head of government. There are no party politics or direct elections.
Level of Freedom: Fairly low. Publication and broadcast of obscene material is prohibited. Political content is not officially subject to censorship, but in practice all media outlets avoid criticism of the system of government. Lack of freedom is predominantly the result of social pressure rather than direct government action.
Population: Approx. 325 million, almost entirely composed of Bengali and related groups along with a small indigenous population.
Languages: Bengali
Religion: Sunni Islam. Islam (almost entirely Sunni) 97%, Hinduism/indigenous religions 2%, other 1%
Level of Technology and Development: High
History: The Sultanate of Bengal emerged as one of the most powerful states of India in the 16th century. A focal point of the generations-long struggle on the part of the Muslim Sultans of Bengal to consolidate the state was the use of Islam as a means of social control; consequently, all of Bengal was converted to Islam by the middle part of the 18th century. Bengali commercial and political influence in this period also led to the spread of the religion in neighboring nations. In the early 19th century, the Sultanate entered what has been characterized in Bengali historiography as a period of decay. While commercial activity remained strong, the emphasis of the state and its rulers on Islam was taken to have wavered. This coincided with the arrival in Bengal of the republican _______ movement, which originated in _______ and held that monarchy was incompatible with Sunni Islam. Conscious of its potential to incite rebellion against the regime, the government moved to quash the movement; this was unsuccessful, and the attack on religious practice led to Islamic society turning against the government. In the ensuing decades, the confrontation between the sultanate and the ________ movement (which quickly became universally identified with the Islamic religion in Bengal) came increasingly to dominate Bengali society, leading to the near-total erosion of support of the Sultan. In 1854 this struggle finally ended, as a new Sultan ascended to the throne and looked to make peace, convening an assembly of delegates from congregations across the nation. That assembly promptly voted the monarchy out of existence and elected a new Council to govern in the Sultan's stead; to this day it meets every year in order to elect the governing Council.
Interesting Fact: While Malda is the capital of Bengal, its most important city is Chittagong, the largest and busiest port in the world.

[SUSAN CRUSHBONE]

Official Name: Jalissalian Republic
Common Name: Jalissalia
Territorial Description: Northwestern North America
Capital: Uostas Tsilchotin
Government System: Power is divided between a 211-member Parliament (elected every three years) and a President (elected every five years). The Parliament includes 61 regionally elected members and 150 distributed according to the nationwide popular vote.
Current Government:
President Vincas Tapardžukas (---) (2010-)
Parliament - Prime Minister Diana Katauskas (PP-VMJ-C) (2004-)
91 Harmony with Creation (conservative, environmentalist, protectionist)
58 People's Party (strongly populist)
42 Voters' Movement for Justice (basically latte-liberals)
9 National Rally (far-right nationalists)
8 Centre (duh)
1 Kreutzerist Workers' Revolutionary Party (Johann Kreutzer is ttl's Marx-analogue)
1 Liberty Movement (whacko libertarians)
1 Independent
Level of Freedom: High
Population: 32 000 000 (44% Lithuanian/other European, 40% mixed, 11% native, 5% other)
Languages: Lithuanian (which slight variations from old-world Lithuanian)
Religion: 36% Catholic, 19% Eastern-Orthodox, 8% Jewish, 3% native religions, 2% other, 32% non-religious
Level of Technology and Development: High
History: After Lithuania's final subjugation of the the city-states of Pskov, Rostov, and Novgorod in 1668*, it turned its attention on the New World. Thriving settlements formed along the Pacific Coast over the next two centuries. The colonists finally seized independence while the Empire was preoccupied with the great rebellions of the 1820s, which reduced Lithuania to less than one-fourth its former size (geographically).
Since then, Jalissalia has for the most part been uninvolved in war, focusing more on domestic affairs. It is now a cultural hub (especially literature-wise) and Lithuanian is the most widely-spoken second language across most of North America.
Interesting Fact: The English name 'Jalissalia' is derived from Lithuanian 'žalia šalis', or 'green land'.


*the gist is that the Russian states never unite under Moscow, and the Grand Duchy (later Empire) of Lithuania ends up with hegemony over much of Southern Russia. They expand their control from there.
note: whoever ends up claiming the Quebec area, please replace the red in the disputed areas with your country's colour.

[Knives]

SAVED



Official Name: The Kingdom of the Arabian People
Common Name: Arabia
Territorial Description: From Iraq to Northern Libya with Cyprus.
Capital: al-Qāhirah
Government System: Constitutional Monarchy with a Congress of 500 members and a Senate of 250. The Prime Minister answers to the king or queen although they have no real powers the PM aswell as Congress and Senate are elected every three years.
Level of Freedom: High although new legislation has limited the size of major press companies to ensure no one can have a monopoly.
Population: Approx 250million.
Religion: 73% Roman Catholic, 12% Sunni Muslim, 7% Jewish 8% other.
History: A long standing bastion of democracy the economy is a rival of many countries throughout the world thanks to it's fertile soils and oil rich lands and ever so important shipping route. United under one person the Arab majority has long dominated the nation since it was created after the uniting of tribes across the region. It boasts a large military that has only ever been used in modern times to protect the island of Cyprus which has struggled with countless rebellion from the local Turkic majority. Although once a large Muslim nation after King Ta'hti converted to Christianity in 1431 and ruled all other religions illegal numbers have significantly dropped although countless practiced in secret. Now days religious freedom is held to be one of the most important aspects of this nation.
Interesting Fact: The largest city in the nation is Jerusalem which also boasts a large Jewish population.

[Platypus]

Official Name: Hokkaido
Territorial Description: Hokkaido and immediately surrounding small islands
Capital: Muroran
Government System: Constitutional Shogunate. The Shogun rules for life, elected from the fifteen members of the Daimyo Council, who in turn are elected for life by members of the Parliament of Hokkaido, with one member of the Daimyo Council representing each prefecture, and one representing the transient population. The Shogun has very limited legislative or executive power, the first held by the Parliament, the second by the Daimyo Council; but he remains the ultimate judicial power, including in constitutional matters. The Parliament is elected with universal adult sufferage at the age of twenty for five year terms, with party lists per prefecture (proportional to population) and a list for the transient population (educators, soldiers, etc).
Current Government: Shogun Nakai has lead Hokkaido in a calm, stable manner for 19 years. The Daimyo Council also leads towards the Conservative, although the Parliament is currently lead by a party that favours greater openness, democracy, and westernisation, very popular among the young. There is still immense respect for the Shogun, but general distaste for the DC.
Population: 7,890,600
Religion: Shintoism, Buddhism, and a mix of the two. No real equivalent with western religious concepts.
History: The first region of Japan to unify, Hokkaido established itself as a union of the northern prefectures within 50 years of the arrival of western traders. This early adoption of western concepts was in part forced by the militaristic threat of the Matsumae clan against other groupings. This early progression slowed, however, and what was once the most westernised and developed part of the Japanese Archipelago is now a relative backwater. Famously neutral in the East Asian wars, Hokkaido is widely respected by it's neighbours in the achipelago as the custodian of traditional cultures and a neutral place for diplomacy, banking, law etc.
Interesting Fact: One of the most important industries in Hokkaido is education, as many boys are sent to schools from about 15-20 on the island from all over Japan and North Asia to finish their education.

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

Offical Name: Holy Roman Empire of the Latin Peoples
Common Name: Crown of Aragon
Territorial Description: Eastern Spain, Southern France, Southern Italy, mainland Greece, northwest Africa, greater Senegal, Cape Verde Islands, Bermuda, Georgia, East Florida, Greater Antilles,
Capital: Barcelona
Government: Federal Constitutional Empire
Head of State: Emperor Ferdinand VII
Unlike the Holy Roman Empire of the German Peoples, Ferdinand VII is also the king of each of the constituent kingdoms: Grenada, Catalonia, Navarre, Burgundy, Corsica, Sardinia, Sicily, Naples, Thessaloniki, Carthage, Tangiers, Dakar, New Grenada (Haiti, Puerto Rico, & Virgin Islands), New Catalonia (Cuba, Jamaica, & Bermuda Islands), New Burgundy (Florida, Georgia, & Bermuda).
The Corts Imperial controls the Imperial Navies (the Sea Navy, the Air Navy, and the Space Navy), maritime, commercial, and religious law, while the Corts of each individual kingdom handles internal matters and raises a Royal Army. (The Imperial Marines are sometimes considered the 16th Royal Army, but not by those in the Armies or the Marines. )
Level of Freedom:Moderate, full freedom of speech and religion, but Catholicism is the state religion and the House of the Nobles and to a lesser extent the House of the Clergy still retain some degree of independent power at the Corts Imperial. The Corts of each kingdom has only two Houses (Commons and Nobles) instead of three (Commons, Nobles, and Clergy) with the degree of power retained by the House of Nobles in each kingdom varying from as high as Sicily where legislation must be introduced in the House of Nobles and the Commons may only accept or reject to that of New Catalonia where the Nobles may only suggest amendments for the Commons to consider. The Emperor (and his Viceroys) retain a veto power subject to being overridden by a supermajority of each House, the exact supermajority varying between the Cortes. The Emperor may veto a kingdom law approved by his Viceroy, but that rarely happens these days of instant communication and when it does, means a new Viceroy will be appointed.  In the interval between a Viceroy's approval and an Imperial veto, such a law is valid.
Population: 220 million
Languages: Modern Latin is the official imperial language, but each kingdom save that of Dakar and Thessaloniki has its own official vulgar dialect of Latin often named after that realm, while Wolof is the official vulgar tongue of Dakar, and Modern Greek that of Thessaloniki. Basque is still spoken in Navarre, but lacks official status as do a number of other minor tongues. Use of minor tongues is not persecuted, but only Modern Latin and each kingdom's official vulgar tongue receives official recognition and instruction in state schools.
Religion: Roman Catholic 83%, Greek Orthodox 4% (mainly in Thessaloniki), Islam 4% (mainly in Dakar and Carthage), Other Christian 3%, Judaism 2%
Level of Technology and Development: High, with an active space program based out of Cape Canaveral, altho no manned missions have been done by Aragon beyond low earth orbit. It did send one telenaut on a lunar mission launched by Zhōngguó, but that was more for diplomacy's sake than any real interest in manned lunar missions.  Aragon has the technology for such a mission, as it has sent robotic probes to Luna as massive as a manned mission would be. However, it doesn't think the moon has anything of sufficient value to warrant the expense of a manned mission, so it has concentrated on its El Dorado space station for manned space flight. Has considered a manned lunar mission as a test flight for a manned aresian mission, but an aresian mission is at least two decades away and lunar landings aren't that similar to aresian ones.
History: The history of Hispaniola experienced butterflies that lead to Navarre and Aragon instead of Castile and Aragon being joined in a personal union and this happened in the twelfth century. Because of the presence of the Kingdom of Arabia as a Christian country, the drive to head west was muted and instead the Crown of Aragon gave more attention to the Mediterranean. In the Year 1600, Phillip of Aragon was crowned by the Pope as the Holy Roman Emperor of the Latin Peoples, tho those Latin peoples at the periphery of his European realms never acknowledged that.
Interesting Fact:  It has become a tradition in the three New World kingdoms that when a Viceroy wishes to leave office, the Corts of those kingdoms will pass a nonsensical law that the Viceroy grants his assent to so that the Emperor may then veto it and appoint a new Viceroy.  Occasionally these laws will end up not being vetoed by the Emperor, such as when Corts of New Burgundy passed a five morabatí tax on each grave (kilogram) of green cheese to build infrastructure needed by the Imperial Space Navy base at Cape Canaveral.

[Del Tachi]

Official Name:  The United Republic of New Caledonia
Common Name:  New Caledonia (or N.C.)
Territorial Description:  Large sections of northern North America (OTL United States and Canada) plus OTL Greenland
Capital:  Rossburgh (located in OTL Nova Scotia)
Government:  Parliamentary democratic republic.  Legislative and executive is vested in a 723-seat House of Commons  whose members stand for election every fifth year.  Parliament elects a cabinet, comprised of a Prime Minister, to execute government policy.  The current Prime Minister of Sean Logan, a member of the Christian-Democratic Party, who has been serving since 2010.  
Level of Freedom:  Very high.  Individual freedoms, including freedom of speech and religion, are guaranteed by a national constitution that is enforced by national courts.  The government is secular.  Similar to OTL Western Europe, but with a more capitalist tinge.
Population:  260 million.  Most of the population is of Scottish or German ancestry, but most European populations are well-represented in New Caledonia due to large waves of immigration in the 19th and 20th Century.  Black Africans and Caribs (a fairly new immigrant population) is rapidly growing and represents close to 8 percent of the national population.  East Asians are about 3 percent of the population.  Hispanics and Native Americans exist in small numbers.  
Langague:  While it enjoys no official status, Scots-English is the first language of over 90 percent of the population, but Creole languages are spoken by a large number of Black immigrants.  
Religion:  52 percent of the population claims religious affliation; of those claiming affliation 45% are Protestant, 28% Catholic, 14% Neo-Pagan, 6% other Christian, 2% Jewish, 2% Islam, 3% other  
Level of Technology and Development:  New Caledonia was the undisputed center of science and technology during the 20th Century.  Today, it produces the world's most scientific intellectual property and has the world's best public univeristy system. New Caledonia has a space program, but it is entirely dependent on using Aragon bases located on Cape Canaveral.  
History:  Originally a Scottish colony, New Caledonia was released from Scottish control when the Scottish monarch was overthrown in 1848.  New Caledonia would be completely industrialized by 1870, and it would become the world's largest economy during the 1930s--a status that it has retained into the 21st Century. Its power as a nation is unparalleled:  it has the world's largest economy and military, which maintains bases across the globe.  It was the first nation to develop nuclear weapons, although it has never used them in wartime. Challenges in the 21st Century include redefining its role as a superpower in a more globalized world and maintaining internal cohesion in the face of a rapidly changing demographic landscape due to immigration.  Disputes over OTL Baffin Island are with Jalissalia have sometimes strained the two nations' relationship, but New Caledonia and Jalissalia remain each other's largest trading partners.  
Interesting Fact:  Rossburgh, the capital of New Caledonia with a metro population of close to 22 million, is the undisputed political, economic, and cultural capital of the Western world (much like New York City in OTL).

[Del Tachi]

Rockefeller, would it be possible to upload your map as PNG instead of a Jpeg?  Jpegs distort the colors a little bit when you blow it up to full size.

Done.

[7,052,770]

I think it's been long enough that I'll take another turn:


Offical Name: Republic of Castile
Common Name: Castile
Territorial Description: The remainder of the Iberian peninsula, but nothing else
Capital: Toledo
Government: Republic with an elected Senate, led by two consuls elected to 10-year terms (staggered, since when a consul dies a new election happens immediately)
Level of Freedom: High
Population: 39,125,000. Almost entirely European/Castilian, though recent North African immigrants make up 8% of the population and rising.
Languages: Castilian is the the official language and is spoken by 95% of the population. Other languages include Latin (Aragonese) and Arabic.
Religion: 56% Catholic, 5% Other Christian, 4% Jewish, 35% irreligious
Level of Technology and Development: Very high. Castile used the post-PE3 boom to completely modernize its rail and highway systems.
History: Castile absorbed Leon, Galicia, and Portugal by 1450 and, along with Aragon, completed the Reconquista of the Iberian peninsula by 1475. In 1481 a Castilian expedition led by Agostino Marcello sailed West into the Atlantic and came ashore in [OTL North Carolina]. Castile established a colony there, and also one in [OTL South America], and for hundreds of years, Castile and Aragon competed for having the world's most powerful empire. Castile also colonized several Caribbean islands at this point. In 1757, it changed. Castile's two large New World possessions both declared independence simultaneously, but the mad king, Alfonso VII, wouldn't let them go (he should have followed England's example). He hit the colonies with every army he could muster, no matter the cost. Weak, divided, and not really motivated, Castilian armies failed to put down the rebellion, and Castile was forced to recognize those two countries' independence in 1769. The failed venture to hold on to the colonies severely weakened Castile's military might.
After Alfonso's death, his successor Sancho II did a good job rebuilding the country. By 1800, Castile was once again one of the most powerful militaries in the world, even if it did not possess a large New World empire. Castile and Aragon's centuries-old rivalry erupted in the 1820s in PE1 (the common name for the First Pan-European War), as Castile and Aragon dragged the whole continent of Europe into a massive war. Castile was defeated, and poor angry mobs of people wound up overthrowing the monarchy and establishing a "reign of terror" of various generals, corrupt politicians and wanna-be-dictators. The island colonies were allowed to go their own way (they didn't really ask for it), as were the Azores, Canaries, and Madeira. Castile remained in a constant state of flux until uniting under the popular general Leonidas Santiago, widely considered to be a national hero and The Greatest Castilian. He was given broad executive power, but only used them to reform Castile into a free, republican government without a single chief executive. He even voluntarily stepped down in 1846 to show Castile and all of Europe how fair and efficient a republican government could be.
Castile stayed neutral in PE2, which happened in the late 1800s, and Castile was on the winning side of PE3, fought in the 1930s. Castile was the only major country not mass-bombed or invaded during PE3, and was a hegemonic power in Europe until everyone else caught back up in the 1950s. Since then, Castile has been one of Europe's quiet leaders politically, culturally, and scientifically. Castile and the many kingdoms of Aragon are still rivals, but haven't actually fought since PE1. Castile has its own space program and does not utilize Aragon's Cape Canaveral.
Interesting Fact: Castile has won more European Football Championships (football is similar to OTL soccer, but a small field and more scoring) than any other European country.

[SUSAN CRUSHBONE]

Guys, remember to throw in a micro-state once in a while.

Official Name: Sultanate of Zanzibar
Common Name: Zanzibar
Territorial Description: the island of Zanzibar (duh)
Capital: Zanzibar City
Government: nominal Sultanate with a three-person elected Advisory Council that pretty much runs everything.
Level of Freedom: Medium -- Zanzibar's elections are free and faultless, and freedom of religion is inviolable. Dissent is strongly discouraged, though.
Population: 2.6 million (17% Arab, 16% African, 11% European, 8% East Asian, 10% others, 38% some combination of the preceding)
Languages: More or less the entire native-born population speaks an Arabic pidgin and at least two other languages; the official languages are _____*, _____*, Arabic, Swahili, Cantonese, and Malay.
Religion (approximate): 15% Ibadi, 10% Shi'a, 5% Sunni, 5% other Muslim, 15% Roman Catholic, 10% other Christian, 25% other (mainly Indian religions), 15% non-religious
Level of Technology and Development: High.
History: Unlike in OTL, where Portugal "discovered" Eastern Africa long before any of the other European powers got there, several of TTL's colonial powers entered the western Indian Ocean around the same time. The Sultans of Zanzibar, as a result, managed to keep their independence (although not their hegemony over vast swathes of Eastern Africa) by playing the various nations off against one another, which has worked for over three centuries by now.
As an unassociated city-state, Zanzibar became a trade hub (well, more than it was already) and remains Africa's preeminent commercial centre to this day.
Interesting Fact: Zanzibar has the world's highest GDP per capita at 266 513 Zanzibar Pounds** (roughly equivalent to OTL US$105 000). However, this is very poorly distributed.



*languages of whichever colonial powers were in the area.
**Whose currency is going to be our TTL standard? I'll change this whenever we decide.

[Platypus]

Can we please go back to Africa/Middle East with the Kingdom of Arabia in that grouping?

[7,052,770]

Can we please go back to Africa/Middle East with the Kingdom of Arabia in that grouping?

Feel free to take a turn and correct the legend while you're at it.

[Del Tachi]

Official Name:  The United States of East Africa
Common Name:   The "United States", or "East Africa"
Territorial Description:   The Horn of Africa extending west to the Nile and south to the Northern shores of Lake Victoria; also includes a small section of land on the Arabian Peninsula near the Bab-el-Mandeb strait used as a military and trading post.
Capital:   Braomo
Government:   Presidential republic; power is shared between a popularly elected president and a National Assembly (Congress).  Elections to elect the President and Congress are held every three years.
Level of Freedom:   Moderately High--the USAE is  mostly secular and individual rights and freedoms are protected for all citizens regardless of their race or religion.  However, religious fundamentalism (across all major East African religious groups) has resulted in a politically conservative culture which sometimes places limit on individual behavior in the name of moral decency--for example, abortion and homosexuality remain illegal and heavily discouraged.   
Population: 32 million
Languages:   English, Arabic, and Castilian enjoy official status; several other minor languages spoken throughout the country
Religion:   Of close claiming affiliation:  48% Muslim, 22% Protestant, 16% Animist, 9% Catholic, 5%; 22% of East Africans claim either no specific religion or no religion   
Level of Technology and Development:   Below average but improving; the large cities on the coasts have average standards of living, but the towns and villages in the rural interior often still lack electricity, safe drinking water, paved roads or adequate healthcare facilities.
History:   This region of East Africa has had the attention of both European, Arabian, Persian, and East Asian traders for centuries.  However, it was not until the 16th Century that much of East Africa was organized into colonies by the European powers.  A number of European states controlled portions of the USAE at one point or another, and no single colonial influence is predominant.  During the rapid decolonization that followed the Third Pan-European War of the 1930s, the colonies that would comprise the future USAE were all released by their colonizers.  In 1961, these colonies (peacefully putting aside their religious and ethnic differences) were able to unite under the banner of the United States of East Africa to promote a common defense and economic vision.  The main factor motivating this unification was the rapid militarization of the Kingdom of Arabia during the late 1950s and 1960s, and that nation's attempt to close the Sinai Canal.  In response, the USAE claimed a small portion of land near the Bab-el-Mandeb strait that it uses to control shipping traffic exiting the Gulf of Aden into the Red Sea, and vice versa.  This situation--with two large nations controlling  important chokepoints on the same body of water--has sometimes resulted in a contentious relationship between the Kingdom of Arabia and the USAE.  Tensions flared during the War of the Nile (1988-1995) between the two countries, but after a peace was brokered relationships have cooled between the two former rivals.  However, the situation remains precarious due to both nations' large militaries and historical rivalry.         
Interesting Fact:   The USAE's prime position on the Indian Ocean and large manufacturing industries make East African ports some of the busiest in the entire world

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

Rockefeller, would it be possible to upload your map as PNG instead of a Jpeg?  Jpegs distort the colors a little bit when you blow it up to full size.

Ernest, I noticed you didn't color some of the Bahamas yellow.  Was this intentional?

No, I just missed a few light green dots, I'll color them in when I next go.

[7,052,770]

Notice to everyone: You've got to post the map as a PNG, or it makes it impossible to edit later.  It would be better not to post a map than to post it is a color-ghosted JPEG.